For
decades, J. L. Johnson wondered what happened to the remains of his
brother, Raymond, who died in 1942, back when J.L. was just a kid living
in Waynedale.

He considered visiting Narragansett Bay, where his brother disappeared,
but he never did.

Time heals all wounds, though, and over the years, J. L. just accepted
that his brother was gone, and his body was never found.

Now, 64 years after his brother’s death, J. L. has received word that his
long-lost brother’s remains have been found and identified. He’s glad to
finally know, but after almost an entire lifetime, it’s just a conclusion
to an aging tragedy that befell a family that, except for J. L., has all
died.

We first wrote about Raymond Shardrick Johnson about a year ago. The story
is that Raymond, who was originally from Oklahoma but moved to Fort Wayne
as a child, died in December 1942 in an accident while serving with the
Navy.

Johnson, who had joined the Navy in September 1941, when he was 16, was a
crew member on the USS Gherardi, a new destroyer harbored in Narragansett
Bay in Rhode Island. One night in December 1942 he and 16 other sailors
were returning to the ship in a whaleboat during a storm. The whaleboat
capsized. Attempts to rescue the sailors were delayed as the storm
worsened, and the Gherardi broke loose from her moorings.

In the end, only two sailors survived. Twelve bodies were recovered in the
following weeks, but three were never found.

Nine months later, in August 1943, a headless and armless body washed up
on the shores of the bay. The body was wearing Navy-style clothes and was
dressed for winter, even though it was August, indicating it had been in
the water for some time.

Navy investigators concluded the body had to be one of the three missing
Gherardi crew who died the year before, but identification was impossible.
So the body was buried in an unmarked grave in Newport, R.I.

In the early 1990s, a retired Marine, Ted Darcy, discovered the unmarked
grave. He arranged for a marker that said “Unknown,” and then set out to
determine who was in the grave. Using DNA tests, it would be possible to
identify the body, but the Navy required survivors of all three missing
sailors before it would do any tests.

For 10 years Darcy tried to locate relatives of the three missing sailors,
eventually finding two. But when it came to Johnson, Darcy hit a dead end.

All he knew was that Johnson had lived in Fort Wayne, and he could trace
no survivors.

A story about the hunt for survivors last year turned up several family
members in the area – cousins and great-nieces – and Johnson’s
lone-surviving brother, J. L., who now lives in Needles, Calif.

It turns out Johnson had eight brothers and sisters, and they lived on
Ideal Avenue in Waynedale.

The Navy, after it had located survivors of all three missing sailors,
took DNA samples last spring, and on Wednesday afternoon notified J. L.
Johnson, Raymond’s only surviving sibling, that 64 years after his death,
the man in the grave was his brother.

J. L. says he’s pleased to finally know the whereabouts of his brother. He
says he was 13 when his brother died, and he was there when his mother got
the news.

She took it hard, he recalled. “She was really torn up. I don’t think she
ever got over it,” he said.

“I’m glad it has all come to a conclusion,” he said. “I’d often thought of
going back there (where his brother died) just to see it. But I never did.
I often thought of taking my mother there.”

J. L. was Raymond Johnson’s youngest brother. He remembers that Raymond
quit school in eighth grade and went to work, which wasn’t unusual at the
time. When he was 16, he joined the Navy, probably just for the
opportunity it offered and to decide what to do with his life, J. L. said.
“Things weren’t too good at that time.” The remnants of the Depression
still lingered.

Four years after Raymond joined the Navy, and three years after he died,
J.L. joined the Navy, too, serving six years.

Now, J. L. has to decide what to do. He doesn’t plan to go to Rhode
Island, he said. It’s been more than six decades now since his brother
died.

He’s put it behind him now. His plan, he said, will probably be to have
the remains cremated and scattered in the bay where he died, where he
first sailed as a member of the original crew of that destroyer.

Last year the USS Gherardi held its
reunion in Jacksonville FL. Before the reunion an announcement was
made in the local paper about the reunion which caused a family member
of a missing sailor from the USS Gherardi, who lived in
Jacksonville, to contact the Gherardi Assn President Gene Phillips.

Gene knew about the missing crewmen
which occurred in Narragansett Bay RI while the USS Gherardi was
anchored in the Bay early in its career as a Destroyer. The whaleboat
was returning men on liberty from the shore to the Destroyer when a
violent squall arose and the whaleboat capsized and I believe fifteen
men were killed. Of the fifteen three were never located and have been
listed as missing. The family member related that they were related
to one of the missing sailors and were invited to attend the reunion.

At about the same time, Gene Phillips
received a call from a Ted Darcy. Ted is a retired Marine who spends
all of his waking hours trying to find missing servicemen and moving
them from the MIA list to the found list. He has probably the only
complete database of all MIAs and from time to time I help him by
locating old burial maps in the Archives. I am also an honorary
member of the USS Gherardi for having established the the history of
the Gherardi from its commissioning early in WWII to the late 50s when
it was decommissioned. I did research on their battle diaries and
rosters and a large photo collection from which Gene made a nice video
about the ships history which is about an hour long.

Anyway, Ted Darcy lives in Fall River
Mass which is the town next door to my hometown of New Bedford, Mass.
Both cities are very similar and are about 15 miles apart. While Ted
was in the Newport Cemetery in RI recording graves, he noticed in a
line of graves that there was a grave without a marker. Ted inquired
of the cemetery and was told that the grave was of a missing sailor
from WWII. Ted thought it deserved a marker also and had a military
marker placed on the grave with the notation that he was an unknown
sailor. He then began to do some research on the grave and
established that this was a sailor that was found along the coast
about 8 months after the capsizing of the USS Gherardi Whaleboat.
After more research he had come across the story of the capsized
Whaleboat and the three missing sailors. Ted deduced that the sailor
most likely was one of the three missing. The problem was then to
locate next of kin of the three which through my previous research
Gene had the name s of the three still missing and we were then able
to locate the next of kin of the three missing sailors. Ted and Gene
then arranged to get DNA swabs taken from kin of the three missing
sailors and Ted arranged to have the missing sailor in the grave
exhumed by the Navy MIA group for DNA material and almost a year later
identification has been made of the unknown. A brother was called by
the Navy to tell him of the match. Further details will be
forthcoming.

John D. Bowen

July 14, 2006 -
Seaman 1st
Class Raymond Johnson -- lost at sea in a naval tragedy in Rhode
Island in 1942 -- can now receive a proper burial and gravestone.

BY RICHARD SALITJournal Staff Writer

NEWPORT
-- What the unknown sailor cannot say, his bones can now tell.

Buried here during World War II,
without a marker or a memorial service, the Navy seaman remained
unidentified and forgotten through the years.

But more than 60 years later, the
Navy has exhumed his remains from Island Cemetery and, through DNA
testing, solved the mystery of who he was. Now Seaman 1st Class
Raymond Johnson -- lost at sea in an all but forgotten naval tragedy
in Rhode Island in 1942 -- can receive a proper burial and gravestone.

Today, the only surviving member
of Johnson's immediate family is a 77-year-old brother, Jesse, of
Needles, Calif. He's the last of nine siblings. Raymond, who was 17 or
18 when he died, never married nor had children.

"I don't have any great feelings
about this whole thing," said Jesse Johnson, who got the news from the
Navy two days ago. "Keep in mind that I was a kid who was 13. This
happened over 60 years ago. Forgive me for not being emotional, but
I'm not an emotional person."

A Navy casualty affairs officer
will come calling at his door next week, as if his brother had only
just died. Jesse Johnson will have a choice of where he wants his
brother's remains reburied. He's not comfortable discussing what he
plans to tell the Navy, but said he's "doubtful" he'll attend any
ceremony.

The Navy's announcement this week,
while providing an answer for Jesse Johnson, dashed the hopes of two
other families that provided DNA believing the unknown sailor might be
a relative. But the news was eagerly greeted by a Fall River veteran
who devoted himself to unraveling the mystery of the unknown sailor.

IN 1995, retired Marine Ted Darcy
was in Island Cemetery on a research job when he came upon an unmarked
grave in a row of veterans. The discovery would lead him on an 11-year
odyssey to honor and identify the serviceman at his feet.

Darcy had little to go on at
first. No one knew anything about the veteran. But when Darcy checked
cemetery records and pored over newspaper archives, he learned of a
deadly naval accident on Dec. 2, 1942.

Shortly before midnight that
evening, 17 Navy sailors boarded a 26-foot whaleboat in Newport after
a night out on the town. While they were being ferried to Middletown's
Coddington Cove, and to their 384-foot destroyer Gherardi, rain began
to fall and the winds and seas kicked up fiercely. Suddenly, a large
wave swamped the boat. Then another capsized it.

Only two sailors survived being
thrown into the frigid waters. Fifteen perished.

Most of the bodies were recovered,
but three were never found. Eight months later, fishermen found a
badly decomposed body missing a head and arms. There were remnants of
a Navy uniform, leading Navy medical examiners to conclude it was one
of the three missing sailors. But they couldn't determine which one.

So instead of being sent home, the
unknown sailor's final resting place became Island Cemetery.

After putting the pieces of the
sad story together, Darcy got local veterans to pay for a stone marker
that reads, "UNKNOWN US NAVY, AUG 1943." He also started tracking down
the relatives of the three missing sailors. Darcy knew the military
was using DNA to identify unknown dead because he was working on
similar projects as a hobby.

He reached relatives of two of the
sailors, including Jesse Johnson, fairly quickly. But it took until
2003 before he finally got in touch with a relative of the third, in
Florida. Only then would the Navy consider exhuming the remains, even
though Darcy was confident it was Johnson.

The reason, he said, is Navy
records indicated the unknown sailor was wearing an on-duty uniform.
Raymond Johnson was the coxswain of the whaleboat on its fatal trip.
The two other sailors who were never found, Cecil Joyner, of
Jacksonville, Fla., and Jack M. Shaul, of New Lisbon, Ind., were on
liberty that night.

One relative from each of the
three sailor's families sent blood samples to the Navy last year.
Then, in April, without notifying any of the families, the Navy
quietly exhumed the skeletal remains of the unknown sailor.

On Wednesday, Jesse Johnson got a
phone call. It was the Navy. There was news of his brother.

THE JOHNSON children grew up
during the Great Depression in Fort Wayne, Ind. They were poor, and
things only got tougher when their father died in 1936.

So when Raymond Johnson was just
13, he struck out on his own.

"He was a good kid. He would give
you the shirt off his back," said Jesse Johnson, the youngest in the
family and three years younger than Raymond. "He never let anyone
bother me. He wasn't very big, but he was tough."

At 16, and just three months
before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Raymond
Johnson enlisted in the Navy. By the following December, the Gherardi
brought him to Newport.

Soon after the whaleboat capsized,
Johnson's family heard from the Navy.

"We were told he was lost in a
boat accident. That's all we was told," Jesse Johnson said.

He remembers his widowed mother
taking the news hard.

"I came home from school and she
was really broken up," he said. "I remember that very well."

Today, Jesse Johnson considers any
special attention paid to his family or his brother unnecessary.

"We were just normal people," he
said, noting that it was typical then to join the Armed Services and
to do so at an early age. One of his brothers earned the Purple Heart
and, like Raymond, Jesse joined the Navy at 16. "I know what the Navy
is. I know what can happen. I've seen guys die. And that's just the
way it is."

Darcy, who's from another
generation and served in Vietnam, sees it differently. Using a vast
computer database he has assembled, he is trying to solve hundreds, if
not thousands, of cases of unidentified military dead.

"To go from a plot of grass and
all the way to Needles, Calif., and bring the guy's brother back, it's
a little out of the ordinary," he said. "I'm a veteran. I have a soft
spot for these things. I don't think it's fair to throw him in the
ground and not even mark it."

Raymond Johnson in Indiana

Vernon couple plays role
in identifying remains of sailor

By Jason Rowe, Journal Inquirer – Published July 15, 2006

VERNON —
Nearly 64 years after a deadly naval accident in Narragansett Bay, R.I.,
the brother of one of the sailors who died finally knows what happened
to his brother’s body.

DNA
testing has successfully identified the remains of a sailor who turned
up in the bay in August 1943 as Seaman 1st Class Raymond S. Johnson of
Fort Wayne, Ind.

Johnson was one of 15 sailors from the then newly commissioned USS
Gherardi who died when the whaleboat they were traveling on capsized in
the bay’s cold, stormy waters in December 1942.

The
sailors were among a group of 17 returning to the ship after spending a
day on leave.

And
with the identification of Johnson fresh in their mind, one local couple
is working to find the families of the other deceased sailors as they
and other Gherardi alumni prepare to dedicate a memorial plaque in
Washington, D.C.

Mystery sailor

Johnson’s remains had been buried in an unmarked grave in Newport, R.I.,
which was spotted in 1995 by retired Marine Ted Darcy of Fall River,
Mass.

Intrigued by the grave,
Darcy —
who had been working on an unrelated research project —
looked into the grave and later concluded that it likely belonged to one
of the three sailors from the Gherardi disaster whose bodies were never
found.

But
before any testing on the remains could occur, Darcy needed to locate
the families of the three missing sailors.

He
had an unexpected stroke of luck last July, when local resident Eugene
F. Phillips received an e-mail from the wife of the nephew of Cecil C.
Joyner, one of the three sailors whose body was never found.

Using medical records, Darcy theorized that the remains likely belonged
to Joyner, who was from Jacksonville, Fla.

After receiving the unexpected e-mail, Phillips, who is president of the
USS Gherardi Association, put Darcy in contact with Joyner’s family, but
there were other obstacles to overcome.

Before authorities would allow the body in the unmarked grave to be
exhumed for testing, the Navy required that family members of the other
missing soldiers – Johnson and Jack M. Shaul of New Lisbon, Ind. – be
found.

After weeks of dead ends, Phillips received a break when a newspaper
reporter from Fort Wayne tracked down Johnson’s brother, Jesse, who
lives in Needles, Calif.

DNA
kits were sent to the families last August and the process of DNA
testing the remains began.

"I’m
a veteran," Darcy told the Associated Press. "I have a soft spot for
these things. I don’t think it’s fair to throw him in the ground and not
even mark it."

Jesse Johnson, Raymond Johnson’s only surviving family member, received
word of the identification from the Navy on Wednesday.

Another chapter
closed

While Darcy’s mystery has been solved, efforts to locate family members
of the 12 other deceased sailors continue, Phillips said Friday.

Phillips is working on installing a plaque commemorating the disaster at
the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C.

When
the time comes to install the plaque, Phillips would like to have family
members of the deceased present.

But
tracking down those family members has been next to impossible.

Phillips, who served on the Gherardi from 1951 through 1955, said he
hopes the publicity surrounding Johnson’s identification might lead
family members of the other deceased sailors to contact him and his wife
Betty.

"This is just a chapter for us," Phillips said. "It’s an important
chapter. But we have a whole lot of work to do. This is part of our
family. What we call, the ‘Gherardi family.’"

Betty Phillips said the possibility of identifying one of the sailors
from the 1942 accident has stirred up a great deal of interest among
Gherardi alumni.

"We’ve got boxes of e-mails that are this high," said Betty Phillips,
who gestured with her hand to illustrate the amount of e-mail
correspondence. "We think we’ll have them bound into a book for the
history of the ship."

The
ship’s historian, Phillips has amassed binders of information on the
destroyer, which went onto have a distinguished combat career, including
an important role in the D-Day invasion of Normandy.

The
ship, which was decommissioned in 1955, had the distinction of never
having lost a sailor during combat.

Given the destroyer’s history, it is tragically ironic that the 15
sailors would have likely survived World War II, had they not perished
in the accident in Narragansett Bay, Phillips said.

‘He was tough’

Jesse Johnson, who was three years younger than Raymond, said he and his
brother grew up with their 7 other siblings in Fort Wayne during the
Great Depression.

Their father died in 1936 and Raymond Johnson joined the Navy as a
16-year-old, three months before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in
December 1941.

In
December 1942, Raymond Johnson, the whaleboat’s coxswain, died in the
accident at the age of 18.

Jesse Johnson, 77, told the Associated Press that when the Navy told his
family about his brother being lost at sea, the news devastated his
widowed mother.

"He
never let anyone bother me," Johnson said. "He wasn’t very big, but he
was tough."

The Associated
Press contributed to this report.

Here
is a list of the sailors who died during the whaleboat accident in
Narragansett Bay.

The USS Gherardi (DMS-30) was, at the time,
functioning as the “Flag Ship” for the Commander Mine Division 60.
Reference: (Deck Log – List of Officers Attached to or on Board the USS
Gherardi (DMS-30) – August, September 1945)

The USS Gherardi (DD-637) was converted from a
Destroyer to USS Gherardi (DMS-30) – High Speed Mine Sweeper in 1944.

“MISSING”, “LOST AT SEA”,
SINCE 1942,

“UNKNOWN USS GHERARDI (?)
SAILOR”,

IDENTIFIED, RETURNED
HOME, - 2006

By Eugene
F. Phillips

Typically,
the responsibility of Destroyer Men, or “Tin Can Sailors”, is, to
protect the fleet. On many occasions the Tin Can Sailors also protected
the United States Marines, particularly during amphibious landings.
There is an historic story unfolding in 2005 and 2006 whereby a former
United States Marine, protected the “Memory” of a Tin Can Sailor.

The USS
Gherardi (DD-637) was commissioned on 15 September 1942 at the
Philadelphia Navy Yard. She spent the next six weeks on Shake Down and
Training cruises within Delaware Bay. First open sea Trials and
Training, began 1 November 1942, when Gherardi proceeded to Casco Bay,
Maine. After one month of operations and training cruises out of Casco
Bay, the Gherardi proceeded to Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island for
torpedo training, and moored at the pier of the Torpedo Station Annex,
Coddington Cove, on 30 November 1942. The crew was provided a short
liberty.

The
situation was described: “A recently commissioned ship, a green crew,
and foul weather can all spell trouble. On 1 December 1942, the Gherardi
was moored to a pier at the Torpedo Station Annex, Coddington Cove. This
is located about four miles north of the Government Landing, Newport,
Rhode Island. The crew were mostly young lads who had recently joined
the Navy (90 percent were inexperienced). They were in a hurry to return
to the ship from shore leave (liberty). Talking among themselves and
exchanging playful banter, they let their desire to get aboard replace
the caution of experience, which was still developing.” 1.

The tragic
result on that night was the 26 foot motor whaleboat, with an untested
crew, capsized in the stormy and turbulent waters of Narragansett Bay.
Seventeen Gherardi Crew Members were plunged into the icy, dark waters,
shortly after mid-night. Only two survived the night. Fifteen USS
Gherardi (DD-637) Sailors died in the early morning hours on 2 December
1942.

The storm
that had capsized the motor whale boat continued to increase in severity
in the early hours of 2 December and even threatened the safety of the
Gherardi herself. After a steel mooring cable parted, the unusual
procedure of securing the USS Gherardi to the dock with the anchor chain
was initiated. The entry in the ship’s log records the following: “. . .
. .0445 Broke starboard anchor chain, starboard anchor secured at hawse
pipe. Ran 25 fathoms starboard anchor chain to the dock. . . . . .”2.

“When dawn
broke on the morning of 2 December, the bodies of five of the victims
were found along the southern shore of Conanicut Island about two miles
north of Jamestown, RI. . . . . .”

Of the
eight remains recovered during 1943, seven were identified. The final
remains from the waters of Narragansett Bay were recovered on 10
August 1943. These remains were never identified. This then left Three
USS Gherardi Crew Members, “Missing”. For Sixty Three (63) years after
this terrible accident, the “Final Chapter” was, Three (3) USS Gherardi
Crew Members are still classified as “Missing”. Today that Chapter of
this historic story now reads; Two (2) USS Gherardi Crew Members are
still classified as “Missing”.

In 1995 a
Retired United States Marine, Ted Darcy, entered the Gherardi story.
While conducting a survey of British and Canadian aviators buried in the
Navy Plot at Island Cemetery in Newport, Rhode Island, Ted came across
an unmarked grave. A check of the cemetery records did show the date of
interment, place of death and gave the name as “Unknown Navy Enlisted
Man”. Through exhaustive research, over a period of several years
(1995-1998), and the expenditure of considerable personal funds, Ted
Darcy, believed at least one of the three USS Gherardi “Missing” could
be identified. The three “Missing” Gherardi Crew Members were: (JOHNSON,
Raymond S. - S1c – 2917476), (JOYNER, Cecil C. – F1c – 5561577),
(SHAUL, Jack M. – S2c – 6267137)

During his
research Ted submitted an application to the Department of Veteran
Affairs for a headstone and it was furnished. However, no funds were
provided to cover the foundation expenses. He made an extensive,
unsuccessful search to obtain the required funds. Upon learning of Ted’s
plight, Commander Robert Stevens, of Middleton, RI, V.F.W. Post 4487,
obtained approval and donated the necessary funds. The grave site in
the first half of 2006, still had an identification marker that read; “UNKNOWN”
– “US
NAVY – WORLD WAR II – AUG. 1943”.

Ted Darcy’s
research had indicated a high probability, the remains in this grave
were those of USS Gherardi (DD-637) Crew Member, Cecil C. Joyner.
However, positive proof of this would only be confirmed through DNA
testing and comparisons with a known Joyner Family NOK (Next Of Kin).

The missing
link pin connection for the last decade had been, to obtain some contact
with Family Members of Cecil C. Joyner. For a decade, all attempts to
secure contact with the Joyner Family had been unsuccessful.

In early
July 2005, the link pin to connect the Family of Cecil C. Joyner and Ted
Darcy was a “Tin Can Sailor”, Eugene F. Phillips 5. President
of the USS Gherardi Association. While in the midst of preparations for
the 2005 Gherardi Reunion in Jacksonville, Florida, Gene Phillips
received the following “generic” e-mail request for information:

“Hello
Gene. We are doing some research into my husband’s uncle, who was on
the Gherardi in 1942. His name is Cecil Joyner. He drowned in
Narragansett Bay when the tender bringing him back from shore leave
capsized. His body was never found. Apparently, the ship was still under
training and maneuvers. His drowning happened on 12/2/1942. Would you
have any info or know of anyone who (was) around (at) that time? Could
you also send me any info that you have on this year’s reunion in
Jacksonville please? My husband’s sister and hubby may be able to
attend. Thanks.”

The initial
e-mail response that day provided standard available data to the Joyner
Family, from USS Gherardi Log Books, etc., in the possession of Gene
Phillips. However, late into the night and through the early hours of
the next morning, memories of known documents triggered alarms and sent
Gene and his wife Betty searching through volumes of USS Gherardi books,
logs, documents, photographs, etc., in the Phillips home library. Gene
Phillips, in addition to being the President of the USS Gherardi
Association is also the Ship Historian. For almost a decade, significant
assistance in establishing the USS Gherardi history documentation, for
the Phillips home library, has been provided by John Bowen. John is an
authorized independent researcher at the National Archives. John served
in the United States Army and is presently providing significant support
for Veterans. John and his wife Mary Ann regularly attend USS Gherardi
Reunions.

On that
early morning in July, 2005, several attempts by Gene Phillips to
recover additional documents on the internet were unsuccessful. However,
contact was finally achieved in the early hours of the morning, and
Chaplain Lt. Col. Boyd Fallwell, provided the desired web address link:
(2005) http://members.cox.net/honorguard2/unknown.

Chaplain Fallwell’s Web-Site posting was Key to facilitating the
connection between Eugene F. Phillips, President of the USS Gherardi
Association and Ted Darcy (USMC Ret.). This web
site still provides a complete summary of the dedicated and exhaustive
research performed and documented by Retired United States Marine, Ted
Darcy, and is titled, “UNKNOWN SAILOR”. The link pin was now in place
and Gene Phillips connected Ted Darcy and the Joyner Family.

Ted Darcy
is one of the Nation’s foremost authorities on “Finding America’s
Missing”.4. Ted, after retiring from the U. S. Marine Corp.,
has virtually dedicated his life to the mission of Finding America’s
WWII Missing. Finding an unmarked grave site in a military section of a
cemetery, in Newport R.I., represented a challenge that Ted was
predestined to accept.

During the
last half of 2005 and the first half of 2006, Ted Darcy and the U. S.
Navy have provided guidance and assistance to the Joyner Family, Shaul
Family and the Johnson Family. There was a dedication to bring the story
of the “UNKOWN SAILOR” to a compassionate and complete conclusion. The
DNA identification procedures and protocol, however, were known to be
potentially fraught with possible time delays and disappointments.

There was
no guarantee of a result; however, it was initially believed the
research work by Ted Darcy shifted the odds in a positive direction,
toward the Joyner Family. It was also believed, if the DNA results were
not positive for the Joyner Family, there would still remain a high
probability that at least one other “Missing” USS Gherardi Sailor would
find his way home after Sixty Three (63) years.

We in the
USS Gherardi Association, prayed for and received a successful and
compassionate conclusion to the story of the “Unknown USS Gherardi (?)
Sailor” in 2006.

Without
the Investigative Research by Ted Darcy (USMC Ret.), starting in 1995,
the Identification of the “Unknown Sailor” would not have been possible.

The USS
Gherardi Association often refers to itself as the “Gherardi Family”.
Our experience of involvement in the “Unknown Sailor” story, and the
participation of Tin Can Sailors, has given “Family” a broader
meaning. We now have a better understanding and appreciation of the USS
Gherardi’s relationship and place in the “Tin Can Sailor Family”.
From our first, unannounced visit to the Tin Can Sailor (TCS) busy
second floor offices, in Somerset, MA, on July 12, 2005, to the ongoing
communications, TCS Staff has truly made us feel like “Family”.
The first Posting and Publication of the “Article Of Interest” in 2005,
on the TCS web-site, was the Documentation Anchor, Credibility Link, and
Basis for other News Media around the USA, to publish the story of the
USS Gherardi Unknown Sailor. Tin Can Sailors web-site posting was
instrumental in locating the NOK of “Missing” USS Gherardi Crew Member,
Raymond Johnson.

http://destroyers.org/Redesign/P2/Articles_interest.htm

Gene Phillips and his Wife Betty had reviewed, in considerable detail,
Darcy’s summary report “Unknown Sailor”, posted on Chaplain Falwell’s
Web-Site, prior to the initial meeting with Darcy. The Phillips’
conclusion from this review was, the “Unknown” most likely was not on
Liberty that night, but rather, a member of the ill fated Boat Crew.
(Johnson was the only member of the Boat Crew not recovered and listed
as “Missing”).

At their first meeting on July 12, 2005, Darcy told Phillips he had on
file information for the Next of Kin (NOK) of only One of the Three
“Missing” USS Gherardi Sailors. This contact was with Jane (Shaul) Ryan,
Sister of Jack Shaul. Ted Darcy was very pleased to now have a
connection with the NOK of the Joyner Family through Gene Phillips,
President of the USS Gherardi Association.

The Judge Advocate General (JAG) Report, of the Newport accident,
confirmed Johnson was the Coxswain of the USS Gherardi (DD-637) Boat
Crew, December 2, 1942.

USS Gherardi Crew Member, Jim Wildman, who was serving on the USS
Gherardi at the time of the Newport accident on December 2, 1942, after
independently reviewing the available Research data on July 16, 2005,
also concluded, the “Unknown”, “. . . must be Johnson.”

Further, if one would be prone to consider “Omen”, additional facts
uncovered on the US Navy Memorial Foundation Web-Site are interesting.
The US Navy Memorial Web-Site maintains a section entitled, “Lost At Sea
Log”. A search of the “Lost At Sea Log” will show only Two of the Three
“Missing” USS Gherardi Sailors, “Lost At Sea”: Cecil Joyner and Jack
Shaul. (It was as though King Neptune was saying, Raymond Johnson is not
Lost At Sea, he is just “Unknown”). Darcy attributed the US Navy
Memorial error to “typical bureaucratic inefficiency”, noting that the
data at the US Navy Memorial, most likely came from the “American Battle
Monument Register”, which also does not list Johnson as Missing.

All of this analysis and conjecture, concerning Johnson as the “Unknown”
was very carefully kept in Confidence as the DNA Identification protocol
went forward in 2005 and 2006.

At times some of the communications were emotionally sensitive. As an
example, in an E-Mail to Eugene Phillips from Jane (Shaul) Ryan, Sister
of Jack Shaul, Jane stated, “. . . My parents spent the rest of their
lives hoping he would be found and/or some kind of news but they didn’t
even get a letter from his commanding officer after the accident. Back
then you just accepted the telegrams and the thank you letter for his
service from the Secretary of the Navy. . . “

The next major issue to arise came when Darcy contacted the US Navy with
the news about the Joyner (NOK) connection. On July 26, 2005, the Navy
said they would only authorize the disinterment of the remains, in the
Newport Cemetery, when DNA samples of all Three NOK of the “Missing”
were available. This now started significant research on the part of the
Navy, Darcy and the Phillips’, to find the NOK of Johnson.. It was Betty
Phillips who made the contact with News Columnist Frank Gray, of the
Fort Wayne Indiana Journal Gazette Newspaper, on August 5, 2005. Forte
Wayne was the original home city listed for Raymond S. Johnson.

All the information the Phillips’ had available was forwarded to Frank
Gray and he spent several days researching Newspaper Archives in Forte
Wayne, Indiana. Gray then called Phillips to say, his research had not
turned up any results, however, he believed this to be an interesting
story and he would run a Column. Gray said “I will Shake the Bushes for
you”. The Title of Gray’s first USS Gherardi Unknown Sailor column was
titled: “Was headless body that of local WWII sailor?” . His
column was published on August 9, 2005.

Frank Gray really “Shook the Bushes”. His title upset the other Families
of the “Missing” Sailors, as well as Darcy. Gray, however, achieved his
goal, when several distant Johnson Family relatives contacted him within
a couple of hours of publication. These contacts led to Needles,
California for the Brother of Raymond Johnson. After several attempts at
telephone contact it was determined the number provided was not correct.
On August 10, 2005, Phillips then offered the services of USS Gherardi
Association Members located in California. USS Gherardi Crew Member Jim
Justus contacted the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department in
Needles, and they in turn assigned a detective to assist. Just as this
assistance was getting underway, Gray called Phillips back and provided
the correct telephone number for Jesse Johnson, Raymond’s Brother.
Phillips then first talked to Jesse Johnson on the evening of August 11,
2005.

Jesse Johnson is also a former Sailor. Jesse served in the US Navy from
September 1945-August 1951, serving on several ships. One of his duty
assignments was aboard the USS Goss (DE-444). This also qualifies Jesse
as a “Tin Can Sailor”.

In September 2005, the USS Gherardi held its Reunion in Jacksonville,
Florida. Jacksonville, coincidently, was the home town of Cecil C.
Joyner, one of the “Missing “. As an additional sign of Respect, Mr. &
Mrs. Phillips invited Cecil Joyner’s Wife, Elizabeth Alderman, and his
Sister, Iris McLeod to the Banquet Dinner. Also included on the guest
list were Joyner Relatives, Mr. & Mrs. Watkins. At the Banquet Dinner,
an added emphasis of the Historic Significance of this story, was
provided by the attendance of the Commanding Officer of Naval Station
Mayport, Captain Charles P. King.

In further recognition of the Historic Significance of the, “Unknown USS
Gherardi (?) Sailor”, the USS Gherardi Association, at the 2005 Reunion,
authorized a Second Plaque to be dedicated at the US Navy Memorial in
Washington, DC. The Second Plaque in the name of USS Gherardi will be
dedicated, “IN MEMORY OF THE 15 CREW MEMBERS WHO LOST THEIR LIVES
DECEMBER 2, 1942 – NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND”. This plaque is sponsored by
individual donations from Members of the USS Gherardi Association.

Now, in 2005, having the Three NOK contacted, the US Navy sent DNA kits
to all Three Families. Although there was a small delay caused when one
Family could not decide who should be the DNA donor, all DNA was
submitted by October. It was interesting and helpful that Siblings of
all Three “Missing” are still alive and anxious to participate by
donating DNA samples.

The case remained quiet until January 2006. Darcy had contact with the
US Navy and they indicated disinterment of the “Unknown” might take
place in the Spring. When March and April 2006, came and went, with no
further communications forthcoming from the US Navy, Darcy notified all
concerned parties. He suspected a Bureaucratic Log Jam. He requested
each one to contact their Congressional Representatives and request
assistance to break what appeared to be this Bureaucratic Log Jam.

Phillips sent several letters to Congressional Representatives and
Senators. Phillips’ last letter, requesting assistance to break the
apparent Log Jam, was sent to the Chairman of the Armed Services
Committee, on July 6, 2006.

Unbeknownst to all parties involved, the US Navy had secretly
disinterred the “Unknown” remains, back in April 2006. The fact of the
disinterment was accidentally uncovered by a member of the Joyner
Family, Sally Van Osdell, and confirmed by Darcy on July 10, 2006.

The US Navy contacted Jesse Johnson on July 12, 2006, to advise him, the
DNA identification match was made with his “Missing” Brother, Raymond.

Congressional intervention was not required. The Navy had quietly,
secretly and efficiently proceeded with the DNA Identification of the
“Unknown USS Gherardi (?) Sailor”. There has been and continues to be a
National interest in the story of the “Unknown” returning home after 64
years.

An excellent collection of National Press Articles relating to the “USS
Gherardi Unknown Sailor – Identified”, Pictures and Other USS Gherardi
Information can be accessed at:
http://www.indianamilitary.org/VetGraves/ExpandMenu/VetSTART.htm.
(On this page, click “Indiana Veterans’ Graves” and then USS Gherardi.)

On July 14, 2006 Ted Darcy notified all involved, via e-mail, “Case
Closed”, referring to the “Unknown Sailor”. This retired Marine has
performed magnificent Research in this case and many others he has
successfully seen to completion. His dedication to recovering the WWII
Military Missing is unparalleled. “Well Done” Ted.

However, the USS Gherardi Association, at this time considers this
significant event to be the completion of only the First Chapter. The
Association will be dedicating a Memorial Plaque to all Fifteen (15)
Crew Members who lost their lives at Newport, Rhode Island on December
2, 1942.

We now have contact with only the Three Families of the “Missing”,
related to the “Unknown” story. The USS Gherardi Association is facing
the daunting challenge of locating the other Twelve (12) Families, to
advise them, their Loved One will be recognized at the US Navy Memorial
in Washington, DC. We would like to have as many Families as possible,
represented at the Memorial Dedication.

The USS Gherardi Association is requesting assistance from all, and
especially the Tin Can Sailors, to locate the Families of the other
Twelve (12), USS Gherardi Crew Members. To this end, we are listing the
Names and Home Towns of all those who lost their lives at Newport, Rhode
Island, December 2, 1942:

CARTER, Emory Calhoun Jr. – Hollywood, CA

DINKHELLER, Melvin Roy – San Diego, CA

FISHWICK, Ralph Burrell – Cuba, MO

HARKINS, Donnie Springer – Grand Rapids, MI

HARRIS, Lester Franklin – Dunlap, KS

HUFFSTETLER, Jacob Columbus – Kings Mountain, NC

JACOBS, James Ander – Arlington, GA

JOHNSON, Raymond Shadrick – Fort Wayne, IN – “UNKNOWN” – “IDENTIFIED”

JOYNER, Cecil Curtis – Jacksonville, FL – “MISSING”

LUKASZEWICZ, Edward Walter – Easthampton, MA

MARTIN, Donald Eugene – Selma, IN

MARTIN, Wilber Edgar – Cody, WY

SASSER, Cody Ray – Barbour, AL

SHAUL, Jack Merl – New Lisbon, IN – “MISSING”

WALLACE, Ward Bell – Paden City, WV

The USS
Gherardi Association, through the dedication of its Members, Friends and
Families, has participated in adding a new dimension to the motto: “NO
MAN LEFT BEHIND”.

The USS
Gherardi Association, through the dedication of its Members, Friends and
Families, is participating and praying for success with the theme: “NO
FAMILY LEFT BEHIND”.

1. “Sea
Classics” – May 1992 – Volume 25, Number 5 Title: “A SEA SO FAR: USS
GHERARD (DD-637/DMS-30)” – By Lance Naismith “She fought two
different wars in two different oceans, carrying out two different
roles”